DREAMWORKS EYEING LARGE AGENCIES FOR MEDIA BUYING

According to Taylor Nelson Sofres' CMR, the film studio spent $350 million on measured media in 2000. Dreamworks enjoyed one of its most profitable years in 2000 -- posting $100 million-plus profits with U.S. box office hits such as Gladiator, Chicken Run and What Lies Beneath.

The incumbent shop is GSD&M in Austin, Texas, which has had the media buying and creative account for just 12 months. A GSD&M executive said the studio has been "handholding" the agency while it becomes accustomed to the fast-changing movie-account media buying business. Another movie media executive suggested that GSD&M was not negotiating the best prices for its client.

Executives at DreamWorks did not return phone calls by press time. GSD&M executives said they were not aware that DreamWorks was shopping around. -- Richard Linnett